JP2018176599A - Image formation device and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation device that is excellent in usability for a user who uses print data.SOLUTION: A printer (102) using a print mechanism (307) and an operation panel (305) includes HDD (303) for storing a printed job and a pre-printing job and does not display a user's icon having only a printed job but displays a user's icon having a pre-printing job on a user selection screen (710).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a control method thereof. This image forming apparatus is used as a facsimile, a printer, a copier complex machine, and the like. This image forming apparatus is used as a facsimile, a printer, a copier complex machine, and the like.

  BACKGROUND Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a printer is known as an apparatus for forming (printing) an image on a sheet. Also, in recent years, image forming apparatuses provided with an authentication function (login function) for authenticating a user are in widespread use.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus capable of logging in by selecting a user icon displayed on a screen. By logging in to the image forming apparatus, the user can display a list of print jobs associated with the logged-in user among the print jobs stored in the image forming apparatus. Then, a print job to be printed can be selected from among the displayed print jobs and printing can be instructed.

  Furthermore, the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1 makes it easy to find the user icon of the user in which the related print job is stored by hiding the user icon of the user in which the related print job is not stored. .

JP, 2012-254618, A

  The image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1 is configured to automatically delete a print job for which printing has been completed. However, since some users want to reprint after completion of printing, it is desirable to provide a function of leaving a printed print job without deleting it. However, when a print job that has already been printed is left without being deleted, the job before printing and the job after printing are associated with the user in a mixed state. Therefore, in such an apparatus, when narrowing down the user icons is performed only with the presence or absence of the user job, the icon of the user having the printed job and the icon of the user having the print job before printing are mixed. There is a risk of being displayed. Therefore, a user who attempts to log in to the device has to search for his / her user icon from among a large number of candidates, which is troublesome.

  For example, a user who attempts to log in to print an unprinted print job first filters the user icon on condition of the user who has the print job so that his / her user icon can be easily found. However, since the user having the print job includes the user having the printed print job, there are many candidates for the user icon to be displayed. Therefore, this user takes time to search for its own user icon.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which is excellent in usability for a user who uses print data.

  The present invention is an image forming apparatus that uses an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet and a display unit that displays information, and is a registration unit that registers a print job so that printing can be performed, and the image forming unit The first print job associated with the unprocessed information indicating that the image is not formed and the identification information of the first user, and the second print job not associated with the unprocessed information and associated with the identification information of the second user And a screen capable of arranging a plurality of selected objects corresponding to the user, wherein the selected objects corresponding to the first user can be selected based on the unprocessed information. And displaying means for causing the display unit to display a screen on which the selected object corresponding to the second user is not selectively arranged. The one in which the features.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus which is excellent in usability for a user who uses print data.

(A) is a figure which shows the structure of an image forming system. (B) is a figure which shows the flow of an image forming system. (A) is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of an information processing apparatus. (B) is a figure which shows the software configuration of an information processing apparatus. FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a software configuration of the image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of a user database. (A) is a figure which shows the structure of PDL data. (B) It is a figure which shows the data structure of a printer storage area. It is a figure which shows a bibliographic information database. (A) is a figure which shows a menu screen. (B) is a figure which shows a user selection screen. (C) is a diagram showing a print job selection screen. (A) is a figure which shows the result of a print filter. (B) is a figure which shows the result of an unprinted filter. (C) is a figure which shows the result of a printed filter. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of print instruction processing. It is a figure showing the flow of display condition change processing. (A) is a figure which shows the structure of a totaling database. FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a print job number sort. (A) is a figure which shows the number of unprinted jobs sort. (B) is a figure which shows the number-of-printed-jobs sort. (A) It is a figure explaining a sort tab. (B) It is a figure which shows the result of printing job number order sort. (A) It is a figure which shows the result of the number of unprinted jobs sort. (B) It is a figure which shows the result of number-of-printed-jobs sort. It is a figure showing the flow of the job submission process. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of print instruction acceptance processing. It is a figure showing the flow of deletion processing. It is a figure showing the flow of display condition change processing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described using examples. In addition, the structure for implementing this invention is not limited only to the structure as described in an Example. Some or all of the configurations in the embodiments may be replaced by equivalents within the scope in which the effects of the present invention can be obtained.

Example 1
In the first embodiment, a printing system (image forming system) in which a PC (information processing apparatus) sends print data and a printer (image forming apparatus) receives and prints the print data will be described as an example.

[Printing system]
FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system. The printing system 100 includes a PC 101 and a printer 102. The respective devices are communicably connected to each other via a LAN (Local Area Network) 103.

  In the printing system 100, print data (print job) output from the PC 101 is downloaded to the printer 102 and printed.

  The PC 101 is a general computer that functions as an external device for the printing apparatus.

  The PC 101 can output print data based on a document file or an image file.

  The printer 102 is an image forming apparatus that performs printing on a sheet (recording material, paper) based on print data. The printer 102 can receive print data. The printer 102 can perform printing based on the print data. The printer 102 may be an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral, Multi Function Printer) or an SFP (Single Function Printer). The printer may be an electrophotographic printer or an inkjet printer.

[Image formation sequence]
Next, the entire sequence when printing is performed using the printing system 100 will be described. FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the flow of the image forming system.

  When starting the image forming sequence, the user first performs login processing to the PC 101. In the login process, the user inputs user information such as a user account name and authentication information such as a password. The PC 101 performs user login processing based on the information input by the user. The logged-in user designates a document to be printed and instructs execution of the printer driver. When the printer driver is activated, the user designates a print data transmission destination and print settings, and then issues a print instruction (S300). In the present embodiment, the printer 102 is designated as a print data transmission destination. The PC 101 creates print data based on the designated document, print settings, user information of the login user, and the like (S307). The generated print data has a structure as shown in FIG. 5 (a). FIG. 5A shows the structure of PDL data. When print data is created, the PC 101 sends the print data to the printer 102 (S112). When print data is sent, the printer performs print data reception processing. Then, bibliographic information on the received print data is registered in the bibliographic information DB (database) (S305). The bibliographic information DB comprises information as shown in FIG. 5 (b). FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the configuration of the bibliographic information database. Along with the registration of the bibliographic information, the printer 102 is linked to an account that can be logged in to the printer 102, stores the print data, and waits for an instruction from the user (S114). The account is managed by a user DB (database) shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the user database.

  Thereafter, the user starts operating the printer 102 (S115). When the printer 102 detects a user operation, the display is activated to display a login screen (user selection screen) (S116). When the user wants to change the display method of the user selection screen, the user instructs to change the display method (S117). The printer 102 redisplays the user selection screen in the method instructed by the user (S118). Thereafter, the user selects a user icon (selected object) corresponding to his account (S119). The printer 102 performs login processing using an account corresponding to the selected user icon (S306). At the time of login processing, the user may be required to input a password. When the login is successful, the printer 102 displays a menu screen on which various functions can be selected. Thereafter, the user selects the print function (S121). When the print function is selected, the printer 102 displays a user job list screen. (122) In the user job list screen, identification information of print data associated with the logged-in user is arranged based on the bibliographic information. When the user selects a job to be printed from the job list and issues a print instruction (301), the printer 102 performs print processing based on the selected print job (S303).

[PC hardware configuration]
The hardware configuration of the PC 101 will be described. FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2, the PC 101 includes a controller 200, a display device 204, and an input device 205.

  The display device 204 is a device such as a display that displays information to the user. The input device 205 is a user interface such as a keyboard or a mouse for inputting a user's instruction.

  The controller 200 is a control device that performs various controls. The controller 200 includes a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 210, an HDD 203, an NIC 206, and an I / F 211. Each configuration in the controller 200 is communicably connected to each other by a system bus 209. The controller 200 may be configured with one board (board) or may be configured with a plurality of boards (boards).

  The CPU 201 is a central processing unit (processor) that performs calculations for various controls. A RAM 202 is a system work memory used as a work area of the CPU 201. The RAM 202 also functions as an image memory for temporarily storing print data and image data. The ROM 210 is a memory in which various programs including a boot program of the system are stored. The HDD 203 is a storage unit for storing various data such as system software, print data, and image data. The HDD 203 can store PDL data. The NIC 206 is a network interface card for inputting / outputting information to / from an external device via the LAN 103. An I / F 211 is an interface for inputting and outputting information to and from the display device 204 and the input device 205. Note that separate interfaces may be provided for the display device 204 and the input device 205, respectively.

[PC software configuration]
The software configuration of the PC 101 will be described. FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the information processing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2, the PC 101 includes a printer driver 251 as executable software.

  The printer driver 251 generates print data 500 in the PDL data format based on document data (document). PDL data is data described in page description language (PDL: Page Description Language), and is data that can be interpreted by the printer 102.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the print data 500 includes a header portion 501 and a body portion 502. The header portion 501 stores user information such as a user name, document information such as a document name, and setting information such as print settings (single-sided / double-sided, color / monochrome). The body unit 502 stores a PDL command. Although the user name of the user who has logged in to the PC 101 is used as the information for identifying the user in this embodiment, other information may be used as the user ID.

[Printer hardware configuration]
Next, the configuration of the printer 102 will be described. FIG. 3A is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 3A, the printer 102 includes a controller 300 (control unit, control unit), an operation panel 305, and a print mechanism 307.

  The print mechanism 307 is a print mechanism (print engine) as a mechanical mechanism that forms an image on a sheet. The print mechanism 307 functions as an image forming unit (image forming unit).

  The operation panel 305 (operation unit) is a reception unit that notifies information to the user and receives an instruction from the user, and a user interface. The operation panel 305 includes an input unit 305 b (operation unit) for the user to perform input such as an input key or a touch screen, and a notification unit 305 a (display unit, for notifying the user by light or sound such as a liquid crystal panel or a speaker). A notification unit). The operation panel 305 outputs input information from the user to the controller 300, and receives notification information to the user from the controller 300.

  The controller 300 is a control unit that centrally controls the entire printer 102 based on a program. The controller 300 includes a CPU 301, an HDD 303, a RAM 302, a ROM 310, and an I / F 311. The respective components in the controller 300 are communicably connected to each other by a main bus 309. The controller 300 may be configured by one board (board) or may be configured by a plurality of boards (boards).

  The CPU 301 is a central processing unit (processor) that performs calculations for various controls. The HDD 303 is a storage unit for storing various data such as system software, print data, and image data. The HDD 303 can store PDL data. A RAM 302 is a system work memory used as a work area of the CPU 301. The RAM 302 also functions as an image memory for temporarily storing print data and image data. The ROM 310 is a memory in which various programs including a boot program of the system are stored. The NIC 306 is a communication interface for inputting and outputting information with an external device via the LAN 103. An I / F 311 is an interface for inputting and outputting information between the print mechanism 307 and the operation panel 305. Note that separate interfaces may be provided for the print mechanism 307 and the operation panel 305, respectively.

[Printer software configuration]
The software configuration of the printer 102 will be described. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the software configuration of the image forming apparatus.

  The controller 300 functions as various functional units by executing various programs. In detail, each function is realized by developing a program stored in the ROM 310 or the HDD 303 in the RAM 302 and executing the program by the CPU 301. As shown in FIG. 3B, the controller 300 has functions as a job management unit 321, a user management unit 322, and a list management unit 323. Note that part or all of the program processing for realizing each functional unit may be configured to be executed by an external device connected to the printer 102, that is, a so-called cloud configuration.

  The job management unit 321 is a functional unit that manages print jobs. The job management unit 321 registers, edits, and deletes information of each print data on the bibliographic information database 600. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a bibliographic information database. As shown in FIG. 6, the bibliographic information database 600 includes a job number field 601, a job name field 602, a user name field 603, a printing status field 604, and other information fields. A job number column 601 is a serial number for managing job information. A job name column 602 is a document name of print data. It is an owner name (sender name) of the print data in the user name column 603. The print status column 604 is flag information that distinguishes whether printing using print data has already been performed, or whether printing using print data has not been performed yet. is there. Further, in the bibliographic information database, information such as print settings and date of submission is managed.

  The user management unit 322 is a functional unit that manages information of a user who uses the printer 102. The user management unit 322 registers, edits, and deletes each piece of user information on the user database 400. As shown in FIG. 4, the user database 400 comprises a user number 401, a user name 402 and a password 403. The user number 401 is a serial number for managing user information. The user name 402 is a user account name used at login. In this embodiment, the owner name of print data is used as a user account. If the print data owner name and the user account can be linked, a user account name different from the print data owner name may be used. The password 403 is a password requested to be entered when logging in to the user account. The password can be set when creating a user account or editing user information. If there is no security problem, the password may not be set.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the user database 400 is registered in advance by the management user. The user database 400 may be downloaded from a management server (not shown) and registered.

  The list management unit 323 is a functional unit for controlling the display content of the user icon. Details will be described later.

  Next, the configuration of data stored in the storage area of the printer 102 such as the HDD 303 and the ROM 310 will be described. FIG. 3C is a view showing the data configuration in the storage area of the image forming apparatus. An information storage area 510 is a functional unit that manages information used in the printer 102. As shown in FIG. 3C, the information storage area 510 includes a job information storage area 511, a user information storage area 512, and a setting information storage area 513. The job information storage area 511 is a data area that manages the print data 500, the bibliographic information database 600, and the like, and is mainly used by the job management unit 321. The user information storage area is an area for managing the user database 400, and is mainly used by the user management unit 322. The user information storage area 512 is a data area for managing the user database 400 and the like, and is mainly used by the user management unit 322. The setting information storage area 513 is a data area for managing setting values used for various controls, and is used by various control programs. In the present embodiment, setting values such as TOP screen login setting and deletion setting after printing are stored.

[Display screen]
Next, the screen displayed on the display unit 305 b of the operation panel 305 will be described. FIG. 7A shows a menu screen. FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a user selection screen. FIG. 7C shows a print job selection screen.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the display unit 305b can display the menu screen 700. The menu screen 700 includes a copy button 701, a personal print button 702, and a scan and send button 703.

  A copy button 701 is a button object for using the copy function of the printer 102. When the copy button 701 is selected, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305b to display a copy instruction screen (not shown).

  A scan and send button 703 is a button object for using the copy function of the printer 102. When the scan and send button 703 is selected, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305 b to scan and display a send instruction screen (not shown).

  A personal print button 702 is a button object for utilizing the personal print function of the printer 102. When the personal print button 702 is selected, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305 b to display a personal print instruction screen (print job selection screen) 720.

  The personal print instruction screen 720 is a screen for issuing a print instruction of print data stored in the HDD 303. The instruction screen 720 includes a job list 721, a logout button 722, a print setting button 723, a print start button 724, all buttons 725, an unprinted button 726, and a printed button 727. The job list 721 is list information of printable jobs among print jobs whose print data is stored in the HDD 303.

  The job list 721 includes identification information such as a document name of each print job, submission time information, page number information, and print status information. The user can select one or more print jobs to be operated from the job list 721. The jobs displayed in the job list 721 are jobs registered in the bibliographic information data. In the present embodiment, in particular, the print job associated with the user is displayed while logged in to the printer 102.

  The logout button 722 is a button for logging out of the printer 102. When the logout button 722 is selected, the logged-in user (for example, the user A) logs out, and no one is logged in to the printer 102.

  The print setting button 723 is a button for performing print setting for the print job selected in the job list 721. When the print setting button 723 is selected, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305 b to display a print setting screen (not shown).

  The print start button 724 is a button for instructing print execution of the selected job. When the print start button 724 is selected, the controller 300 causes the print mechanism 307 to perform image formation based on the selected job.

  An all button 725 is a button for displaying both the print status “printed” job and the “non-printed” job among print jobs associated with the logged-in user. FIG. 720 shows the state in which all the buttons 725 are selected.

  An unprinted button 726 is a button for displaying a job whose printing status is “unprinted” among print jobs associated with the logged-in user.

  A printed button 727 and a button for displaying a job whose print status is “printed” among print jobs associated with the logged-in user.

  By the way, in order to display a job associated with the logged-in user on the instruction screen 720, the user needs to log in to the printer 102 in advance. The login of the user is performed using the user selection screen 710.

  The user selection screen 710 is a screen for determining an account for logging in to the printer 102. The user selection screen 710 includes a filter tab 711, a sort tab 712, a display area 713, and a page switch button 714.

  In the display area 713, a plurality of user icons corresponding to accounts that can log in to the printer 102 are displayed side by side (plurally possible). When one user icon is selected in the display area 713, the selected account can log in to the printer 102. It should be noted that after selecting the user account, authentication information such as a password may be requested, and login may be possible only when the authentication information matches.

  The filter tab 711 is a tab for changing a user icon to be displayed in the display area 713. In the filter tab 711, all filters, print filters, print (non-printed) filters, and print (printed) filters can be selected. In all filters, icons of all users managed in the user database are displayed. In the print filter, an icon of a user whose associated print data is stored in the HDD 303, that is, a user whose job related to the bibliographic information database 600 is registered is displayed. In the print (non-printed) filter, among the jobs registered in the bibliographic information database 600, icons of users registered as jobs related to jobs whose print status is unprinted are displayed. In the print (printed) filter, among the jobs registered in the bibliographic information database 600, icons of users registered as jobs related to jobs whose print status is already printed are displayed.

  The sort tab 712 is a tab for changing the display order (arrangement layout) of the user icons displayed in the display area 713. Detailed description will be omitted in this embodiment.

  The page switch button 714 is a button for switching the user icon to be displayed from among the user icons to be displayed. When the page switching button 714 is selected, for example, the user icons displayed in the display area 713 are switched from “Administrator” “edward” “goto” “hayashi” to “ito” “ivy” “kaneko”.

Icon Filter
The icon filter that can be used by selecting the filter tab 711 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 8A shows the result of the print filter. In the print filter, in the bibliographic information database 600, the icon of the user whose associated job is registered is displayed. In the bibliographic information database 600, users whose jobs are registered are "edward", "hayashi", "goto" and "ito". Therefore, in the print filter screen 800, user icons of “edward”, “hayashi”, “goto” and “ito” are displayed in the display area 713.

  FIG. 8B is a diagram showing the result of the unprinted filter. In the unprinted filter, the bibliographic information database 600 displays the icon of the user who has registered the unprinted job. In the bibliographic information database 600, users who have registered unprinted jobs are "edward", "hayashi" and "ito". Therefore, in the unprinted filter screen 810, user icons “edward”, “hayashi”, and “ito” are displayed in the display area 713.

  FIG. 8C shows the result of the printed filter. In the unprinted filter, in the bibliographic information database 600, the icon of the user whose job in the printed state is registered is displayed. In the bibliographic information database 600, users who have registered printed jobs are "edward" and "goto". Therefore, in the printed filter screen 820, user icons of "edward" and "goto" are displayed in the display area 713.

[Print instruction processing flow]
A series of flows from the detection of the user's operation by the printer 102 to the execution of the printing process will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of print instruction processing.

  When the operation panel 305 is operated by the user, the controller 300 detects the operation of the user (S901). Then, the login setting is read out, and it is determined whether or not it is the TOP screen login setting (S902). If it is the TOP screen login setting (S902: YES), the process proceeds to S904. If it is not the TOP screen login setting (S902: NO), the menu screen 700 is displayed on the controller 300 display unit 305b. Then, the selection of the personal print button 702 (print function) is accepted by the user operation (S903).

  In S904, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305b to display the user selection screen 710 (user list). Next, the controller 300 determines whether an instruction to change the display condition of the user icon has been issued. When a change instruction of the display condition of the user icon is given, specifically, when the filter tab 711 or the sort tab 712 is selected, the controller 300 determines that the change instruction of the display condition is given (S905: YES). Then, display condition change processing is executed (S906). After the display condition change, the controller 300 updates the user selection screen 710 (S904).

  When not a display condition change instruction (S905: NO) but a user icon selection instruction is received (S907), the controller 300 determines whether or not the TOP screen login setting is made (S908). When it is the TOP screen login setting (S 908: YES) The controller 300 displays the menu screen 700 on the display unit 305 b. Then, the selection of the personal print button 702 (print function) is accepted by the user operation (S903). If it is not the TOP screen login setting (S 908: NO), the process proceeds to S 910. Therefore, the selection of the print function is performed at either S903 or S909.

  In S910, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305b to display an instruction screen 720 (job list screen). Then, by receiving the selection of the job in the job list 721 and the selection of the print start button, the controller 300 receives a print instruction (S911). When the print instruction is received, the controller 300 causes the print mechanism 307 to execute image formation based on the selected print job. A series of flows are completed as described above.

[Display condition change processing flow]
Next, the details of the process flow of the display condition change process in S906 will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flow of display condition change processing. The display condition change process is executed by the controller 300 functioning as the list management unit 323.

  In the display condition change processing flow, the controller 300 determines what method of change instruction is (S1001).

  If the change method is not a filter (S1001: NO), for example, if the sort tab 712 is selected, other processing is performed. In the present embodiment, in order to describe the change processing by the filter, the description of the other processing (S1010) is omitted.

  If the change method is a filter (S1001: YES), that is, if the filter tab 711 is selected, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305b to display filter method candidates (S1002). When a filter method is selected from the filter candidates, the controller 300 determines whether it is a filter method based on a print job (S1003). If the filter method is not based on the print job (S1003: NO), other processing is performed (S1010). If it is a filter method based on a print job (S1003: YES), the type of filter is determined (S1004).

  If the type of filter is a print filter, job information of all jobs is extracted from the job list (S1005). If the type of the filter is an unprinted filter (print waiting filter), job information of the unprinted job is extracted from the job list (S1006). If the type of filter is a printed filter, job information in a printed status is extracted from the job list (S1007). Thereafter, the controller 300 extracts the user name associated with the extracted job (S1008). Then, the icon of the extracted user name is set as a display target. As described above, a series of display condition change processing flows are performed.

[effect]
According to this embodiment, the user having the print job can be filtered to display the user icon. Therefore, a user who wants to print a print job stored in the printer 102 can efficiently find his / her user icon.

  According to this embodiment, the user having an unprinted print job can filter and display the user icon. Therefore, a user who wants to print an unprinted print job stored in the printer 102 can efficiently find his / her user icon.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to filter by the user having a printed print job and display the user icon. Therefore, a user who wants to print a printed print job stored in the printer 102 can efficiently find his / her user icon.

(Example 2)
In the first embodiment, an example of filtering user icons has been described. In the second embodiment, an example of sorting user icons will be described. The basic configuration of the printing system of the second embodiment is the same as the basic configuration of the printing system of the first embodiment except for a part of the configuration. Therefore, the same reference numerals and numerals are given to the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

Summary database
In the first embodiment, the job is extracted from the bibliographic information database 600 in order to filter the user. In the second embodiment, a tabulation database 1110 of the number of print jobs tabulated based on bibliographic information (not shown) different from the bibliographic information database 600 is used.

  FIG. 11 (a) is a diagram showing the configuration of the aggregation database. The aggregation database 1110 includes a user name field 1111, an unprinted job number field 1112, a printed job number field 1113, and a total job number field 1114. In the user name column 1111, identification information of the user associated with the print job is stored. The unprinted job number column 1112 stores the number of unprinted print jobs associated with the user. The number of printed jobs associated with the user is stored in the number of printed jobs column 1113. The total number of jobs column 1114 stores the number of print jobs associated with the user. In FIG. 11A, the summary database 1110 is sorted in the order of user names.

  FIG. 11B is a diagram showing the result of sorting the number of print jobs in the aggregation database. FIG. 12A shows the result of sorting the number of unprinted jobs in the aggregation database. FIG. 12B is a diagram showing the result of sorting the number of printed jobs of the aggregation database.

  In the print job number sort result 1120, data is arranged in order from the user with the largest number of related print jobs. In the unprinted job count sort result 1210, data is arranged in order from the user with the largest number of related unprinted jobs. In the printed job number sort result 1220, data is arranged in order from the user with the largest number of related printed jobs.

[Display screen]
Next, the screen displayed on the display unit 305b of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 13A is a diagram for explaining the sort tab. FIG. 14 (a) is a diagram showing sorting of the number of unprinted jobs. FIG. 14B is a diagram showing the sort of the number of printed jobs.

  When sort tab 712 is selected on user selection screen 710, controller 300 places user selection screen 710 in sort tab selection state 1310. As the candidates for the sorting method, the order by name, the order by the number of print jobs, the order by the number of unprinted jobs, the order by the number of printed jobs can be mentioned. In the present embodiment, the arrangement priority of the user icons in the display area 713 is in the order of upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right. Therefore, when sorting in the order of names, the controller 300 selects “Administrator”, “edward”, “goto” and “hayashi” in the order of upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right based on the tabulation database 1110 (sorted by name). Deploy. On the second page, "ito" is placed. In addition, the priority of arrangement may use another method. Also, the arrangement of the user icon may be appropriately designed such as 1 × 4 or 3 × 3 instead of 2 × 2.

  In the sort tab 712, when the print job number order is selected, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305b to display a print job number sort screen 1320 based on the print job number sort result 1120. At this time, in the display area 713, “goto” “ito” “hayashi” “edward” is placed on the first page, and “Administrator” is placed on the second page.

  In the sort tab 712, when the order of the unprinted job number is selected, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305b to display the unprinted job number sort screen 1210 based on the unprinted job number sort result 1210. At this time, in the display area 713, “hayashi”, “goto”, “edward”, and “ito” are arranged on the first page, and “Administrator” is arranged on the second page. At this time, “ito” having no unprinted print job is arranged at a position farther from “hayashi” than “goto” and “edward”. In addition, "administrator" having no print job is disposed at a position farther from "hayashi" than "ito", "goto", and "edward".

  In the sort tab 712, when the printed job number order is selected, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305b to display the printed job number sort screen 1420 based on the printed job number sort result 1220. At this time, in the display area 713, “ito”, “goto”, “edward”, and “hayashi” are arranged on the first page, and “Administrator” is arranged on the second page. At this time, “hayashi” that does not have a print job that has been printed is placed at a position farther from “ito” than “goto” and “edward”. In addition, "administrator" having no print job is arranged at a position farther from "ito" than "hayashi", "goto", and "edward".

[Display condition change processing flow]
Next, the details of the process flow of the display condition change process in S906 will be described. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a flow of display condition change processing. The display condition change process is executed by the controller 300 functioning as the list management unit 323.

  In the display condition change processing flow, the controller 300 determines what method of change instruction is (S1801).

  If the change method is not sorting (S1801: NO), for example, if the filter tab 711 is selected, other processing is performed. In the present embodiment, in order to describe the change processing by sorting, the description of the other processing (S1809) is omitted.

  If the change method is sort (S1801: YES), that is, if the sort tab 712 is selected, the controller 300 causes the display unit 305b to display the sort method candidates (S1802). When the sorting method is selected from the candidates, the controller 300 determines whether the sorting method is based on the print job (S1803). If the sorting method is not based on the print job (S1803: NO), other processing is performed (S1809). If the sorting method is based on the print job (S1803: YES), the sort type is determined (S1804).

  If the sort type is the print job number sort, the users in the filter are sorted in the print job number order, and for example, the print job number sort result 1120 is acquired (S1805). If the sort type is the unprinted sort (sorted for print waiting), the users in the filter are sorted in the order of the unprinted job number, and for example, the unprinted job number sort result 1210 is acquired (S1806). If the sort type is a printed sort, the users in the filter are sorted in the order of the number of printed jobs, and, for example, the sort result of printed jobs 1220 is acquired (S1807).

  Thereafter, the controller 300 determines the arrangement of the user icons based on the sort result (S1808).

  As described above, the series of display condition change processing ends.

[Print Job Count]
The print job count for generating the aggregation database 1110 will be described. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a flow of print job count counting associated with the job submission process. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a flow of print job number counting in accordance with the print instruction acceptance process. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a flow of print job count counting associated with the deletion process.

  First, the print job count associated with the job submission will be described. In the job submission process, the controller 300 first receives a print job (S1501). Then, it is determined whether the received job is a target job for retention (S1502).

  If the print job is to be kept (S1502: YES), the received job is registered as a non-print job in the bibliographic information database 600 (S1503). Then, in the aggregation database 1110, the unprinted count of the user linked to the received job is incremented by "1" (S1504).

  If the print job is not held (S1502: NO), the controller 300 causes the print mechanism 307 to execute image formation based on the received job (S1505).

  Thereafter, the controller 300 determines whether to delete the print job. If deletion after printing is designated for the print job, or if the deletion mode after printing is set to the printer 102 (S1506: YES), the print job is deleted (S1507). Then, the process ends without changing the job count of the user in the tabulation database 1110 (S1508).

  If deletion after printing is not specified for the print job and the deletion mode after printing is not set to the printer 102 (S1506: NO), the received job is registered in the bibliographic information database 600 as a printed job (S1509) ). Then, in the aggregation database 1110, the printed count of the user linked to the received job is incremented by “1” (S1510).

  As described above, a series of flow of print job number counting accompanying job submission ends.

  Next, the print job count associated with the print instruction acceptance process will be described. In the print instruction acceptance process, the controller 300 first accepts a print instruction from the user via the operation panel 305 (S1601). Then, the controller 300 causes the print mechanism 307 to execute printing based on the print job for which printing is instructed (S1602).

  Thereafter, the controller 300 determines whether to delete the print job (S1603). If it is a print instruction accompanied by the designation of deletion after printing, or if the deletion mode after printing is set to the printer 102 (S1603: YES), the controller 300 deletes the print job (S1604). Further, the controller 300 determines whether the print job instructed to be printed is an unprinted job (S1605). If the printed job is an unprinted job (S1605: YES), the controller 300 decrements the unprinted count of the user linked to the printed job by “-1” (S1606). If the printed job is a printed job (S1605: NO), the controller 300 decrements the printed count of the user linked to the printed job by “-1” (S1607).

  If the print job is not deleted after printing (S1603: NO), the controller 300 determines whether the print job instructed to be printed is a printed job or an unprinted job (S1608).

  If the printed job is an unprinted job (S1608: YES), the controller 300 re-registers the print job as a printed job. Specifically, the printing status column 604 in the bibliographic information database 600 is rewritten from unprinted to printed. Then, the unprinted count of the user linked to the printed job is set to “−1”, and the printed count is set to “+1” (S1610).

  If the printed job is a printed job (S1608: NO), the controller 300 ends the process without changing the job count of the user linked to the printed job (S1611).

  Next, the print job number counting associated with the deletion process will be described. In the deletion process, the controller 300 detects a deletion event (S1701). This deletion event is an event different from deletion after printing. For example, this event detects a deletion event when deletion of a print job is designated by the user operating the operation panel 305. In addition, the deletion event is detected when a predetermined time has elapsed since the print job submission time. For automatic deletion after job submission, for example, the job deletion timing may be appropriately set to one hour, six hours, twelve hours, twenty-four hours, one week, one month, and the like.

  When such a deletion event is detected, the controller 300 performs print job deletion processing (S1702). The controller 300 determines whether the deleted print job is an unprinted job or a printed job (S1703). If the deleted job is an unprinted job (S1703: YES), the printed count of the user who is linked to the deleted print job is set to “−1”. If the deleted job is a printed job (S1703: YES), the controller 300 decrements the printed count of the user who is associated with the deleted print job by “−1”.

  As described above, a series of processes of counting the number of print jobs associated with the deletion process is completed.

[effect]
According to this embodiment, it is possible to sort the users according to the number of print jobs and display the user icons. Therefore, a user who wants to print a print job stored in the printer 102 can efficiently find his / her user icon.

  According to this embodiment, it is possible to sort users according to the number of unprinted print jobs and display user icons. Therefore, a user who wants to print an unprinted print job stored in the printer 102 can efficiently find his / her user icon.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to sort users according to the number of print jobs that have been printed and to display user icons. Therefore, a user who wants to print a printed print job stored in the printer 102 can efficiently find his / her user icon.

(Other embodiments)
In the above description, the first embodiment and the second embodiment have been described as separate embodiments. However, the first embodiment and the second embodiment may be combined. Specifically, the user filter and the user sort may be used in combination.

  In Example 1, when the filter is selected, the filter is applied to all the user icons. However, for certain predefined user icons, no filter may be applied as an exception. For example, as an exception, the icon of the user having administrator authority such as “administrator” may be displayed on the screen regardless of the presence or absence of the unprinted job / printed job. Similarly, specific user icons may be excluded from sorting so as to be placed at specific positions.

  In the first embodiment, when filtering by an unprinted job, the user icon having no unprinted job is hidden. However, the filter method is not limited to this. You may mask (gray out) user icons that do not have unprinted jobs.

  In the first embodiment, the print job is associated with the user by assigning the user ID to the print data, but the method of associating the print job with the user is not limited thereto. For example, a user and a specific box (folder) may be associated in advance, and a print job based on data stored in the specific box may be regarded as a print job associated with the user.

  The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. Can also be realized. It can also be implemented by a circuit (eg, an ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus comprising a single device.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications (including organic combinations of the respective embodiments) are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, which are excluded from the scope of the present invention is not. That is, the configuration in which each of the above-described embodiments and their modifications are combined is also included in the present invention.

101 PC
102 Printer 300 Controller 307 Printing Mechanism 305 Operation Panel 400 User Database 600 Bibliographic Database 710 User Selection Screen 711 Filter Tab 712 Sort Tab 1110 Summary Database

The present invention comprises a print unit that performs print processing based on print data, and a display unit that displays information, manages print data in association with user information, and includes printed print data used for the print processing, and An image forming apparatus for identifiably managing unprinted print data not used for print processing, a user selection screen capable of arranging a plurality of selection objects corresponding to user information, which is related to the unprinted print data A user selection screen in which a selection object corresponding to attached user information is arranged, and a selection object corresponding to user information associated with the printed print data but not associated with the unprinted print data is not arranged Means for displaying on the display unit .

Claims (19)

In an image forming apparatus using an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet and a display unit for displaying information,
A registration unit configured to register a print job so as to be able to print instructions, and a first print job associated with unprocessed information indicating that an image is not formed by the image forming unit and identification information of a first user; A registration unit capable of registering a second print job not associated with the unprocessed information and associated with the identification information of the second user;
A screen on which a plurality of selected objects corresponding to a user can be arranged, wherein a selected object corresponding to the first user is selectably arranged based on the unprocessed information, and a selected object corresponding to the second user is An image forming apparatus comprising: display means for displaying on the display unit a screen which is not arranged to be selectable.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a list screen of print jobs associated with identification information of a user corresponding to a selected object selected on the screen on the display unit.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for causing the image forming unit to form an image based on the print job selected on the list screen.   It is the further screen which can arrange two or more selection objects corresponding to a user, and corresponds to the selection object corresponding to the 1st user based on the 1st job and the 2nd job, and the 2nd user The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising means for causing the display unit to display the additional screen on which the selected object is selectively arranged.   The image forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the screen is arranged such that a specific selected object corresponding to a specific user can be selected without being based on the unprocessed information. apparatus. A control method of an image forming apparatus using an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet and a display unit for displaying information,
A first print job associated with unprocessed information indicating that an image is not formed by the image forming unit and identification information of a first user, and identification information of a second user not associated with the unprocessed information Register a second print job associated with the printable user,
A screen on which a plurality of selected objects corresponding to a user can be arranged, wherein a selected object corresponding to the first user is selectably arranged based on the unprocessed information, and a selected object corresponding to the second user is A control method characterized by displaying on the display unit a screen which is not arranged to be selectable. In an image forming apparatus using an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet and a display unit for displaying information,
A registration unit configured to register a print job so as to be able to print instructions, and a first print job associated with unprocessed information indicating that an image is not formed by the image forming unit and identification information of a first user; A registration unit capable of registering processed information indicating that an image has been formed by the image forming unit and a second print job associated with identification information of a second user;
It is a screen which can arrange a plurality of selection objects corresponding to a user in a plurality of positions including a first position and a second position, and corresponds to the first user based on the unprocessed information and the processed information. And display means for displaying on the display unit a screen on which a selected object is selectably arranged at the first position and an object corresponding to the second user is selectively arranged at the second position. An image forming apparatus characterized by   8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising means for displaying on the display unit a list screen of print jobs associated with identification information of a user corresponding to a selected object selected on the screen.   9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising means for causing the image forming unit to form an image based on the print job selected on the list screen.   The screen can arrange a selected object corresponding to a third user associated with more unprocessed print jobs than the first user, and the selected object corresponding to the third user is the first object. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the image forming apparatus is arranged at a third position farther from the second position than the position of.   The screen can arrange a selected object corresponding to a third user having no associated print job, and the selected object corresponding to the third user has the second based on the absence of an associated print job. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the image forming apparatus is selectively disposed at a third position farther from the first position than the position.   The screen can arrange a specific object corresponding to a specific user, and the specific object can be selectively arranged at a specific position without being based on the unprocessed information and the processed information. An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that: In a control method of an image forming apparatus using an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet and a display unit for displaying information,
A first print job associated with unprocessed information indicating that an image is not formed by the image forming unit and identification information of a first user; processed information indicating that an image is formed by the image forming unit; Registering a second print job associated with the identification information of the second user so as to enable printing;
It is a screen which can arrange a plurality of selection objects corresponding to a user in a plurality of positions including a first position and a second position, and corresponds to the first user based on the unprocessed information and the processed information. Displaying on the display unit a screen on which a selected object is selectably arranged at the first position and an object corresponding to the second user is selectively arranged at the second position Control method characterized by In an image forming apparatus using an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet and a display unit for displaying information,
A registration unit configured to register a print job so as to be able to print instructions, and a first print job associated with processed information indicating that an image has been formed by the image forming unit and identification information of a first user; A registration unit capable of registering a second print job not associated with the completed information and associated with the identification information of the second user;
A screen on which a plurality of selection objects corresponding to a user can be arranged, wherein a selection object corresponding to the first user is selectably arranged based on the processed information, and a selection object corresponding to the second user is An image forming apparatus comprising: display means for displaying on the display unit a screen which is not arranged to be selectable.   15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising means for displaying on the display unit a list screen of print jobs associated with identification information of a user corresponding to a selected object selected on the screen.   16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising: a unit that causes the image forming unit to form an image based on the print job selected on the list screen.   It is the further screen which can arrange two or more selection objects corresponding to a user, and corresponds to the selection object corresponding to the 1st user based on the 1st job and the 2nd job, and the 2nd user The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 16, further comprising means for causing the display unit to display the additional screen on which the selected object is arranged.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the screen is not based on the unprocessed information, and a specific selected object corresponding to a specific user is arranged. A control method of an image forming apparatus using an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet and a display unit for displaying information,
A first print job associated with processed information indicating that an image has been formed by the image forming unit and identification information of a first user, and identification information of a second user not associated with the unprocessed information. Register the second print job to be related so that print instruction is possible,
A screen on which a plurality of selected objects corresponding to a user can be arranged, wherein a selected object corresponding to the first user is selectably arranged based on the unprocessed information, and a selected object corresponding to the second user is A control method characterized by displaying on the display unit a screen which is not arranged to be selectable.

Images